‘This Is How Things Get Messed Up’: Raekwon’s Music Business Advice

Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon put on his mentor hat in a recent interview, saying that it’s important for young artists to keep their business interests and friends separate. Surrounding yourself with yes-men and hangers-on is the wrong way to go, he told Jan DeLeon.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t have great intentions and they’ll be right there next to you rooting you on and acting like they’re genuine, but they don’t really give a f-ck about you — they’re there for their personal pleasure,” he said. “So I always say make sure your team is solid and you’re handling business. Have the people there that are important to regulate what’s going on around you… This is how things get messed up, when people just allow other people to come in.”

Raekwon said he felt a pull to help old friends “get out of the hood,” but that it hasn’t always worked out. “Like I said you never know if they’re really down for the get-down when it comes to that,” he said. “So I think it’s important to just lay it out at the top. And if you feel that person is worthy of that job, give it to them. Don’t give it to them just because it’s your homeboy.”

He added, “You definitely can’t help everybody, but from us being from that project mentality, we always want to come back and help a few people out that we can because we love them. But if you’re not doing job, you’re in trouble.”